The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-15
ANEW FIELD OF WORK FOR WOMEN.
Efficiency Of Young Ladies as stenograrhers
and Manipulators Of the Type Writer.

Within the last four years shorthand writer's
and operators upon type-writing machines have
become more and more necessity in great
number Of businesses in this city; in fact, no
great mercantile or manufacturing concern, and
few lawyers Offices can now do without
Shen. There are in Indianapolis one hundred
" persons who make their living as short
writers, which. includes proficiency upon
Eype-writing machine. or this number
jthere are twenty who are type-writers merely
land not short handlers. OF the one hundred and
2ffty, sixty are men and ninety are young women.
sThe railroad Offices, for the most part employ
Smen in this work, but a number of young ladies
Hind employment there also, and are capable
10 do the work as their male colleagues. Young
Rlady short-handers find employment along Me-
fridian street in the wholesale houses, and are
spreferrsd to young men. They rather improve
the conversation and surroundings of the BUSH
ness Office as they neither smoke. chew, drink
nor .aKTear. They find employ ment in the Offices
Of mMchine-shops and manufacturing establish
ments- The Nordyke g. Marmon Company en-
the most rapid type-writers in the State. H. L.
Condo has three young lady type-writ-
ers, and number of establishments
employ two, their special work being
1-..respondencs and nothing else. In lawyers
Offices, when ambitious youth applies to enter
for the purpose Of studying law, the first ques-
ton asked MIN Is as 10 his Ouahucatlou as d
shorthand writer and manipulator of the type
writing machine
Tho wages of the young ladies engaged in this
work vary from 81. so TO So. 90 week, very
few getting as much as $15 week. There is but
one young lady, Miss Anna Taylor, who does
work as court reporter. This branch of the
business is so combining, so exacting and SO diff
fcult that few young ladies attempt it, and,
shown by the fact that Miss Taylor is the only
one in the city few succeed. This young lady
mas an Office in which she gives employment to
fair young lady type writers, and she takes all
kinds of work--correspondence, piece-work, legal
MISUNDERSTANDING in the line of shorthand and
type writing. There is one young lady who does
dlctation work for two ministers who are pub
fishing a UNCONVENTIONAL paper
1t Is estimated that during the last two years
over two hundred young ladies of this city have
taken up shorthand and Gype-writIng, and of this
number NOT one-twentieth have continued the
work with sufficient application and zeal to rem
der themselves fit TO undertake dictaticn work.
For the FIRST few weeks while shorthand and
tyre-writing machines novelties, all is bright
ana hopeful, but as time goes on and they dis
cover the patience and drndgery that are required
To achieve proficiency, they give up in despair
Even among those who apply themselves few
have the requisite qualities to achieve success as
short hand writers. who, like poets. are born
n5stxnade. Yet there is constant demand for
yornrladies who can do good work in attending
70 correspondence, who are quick and ready in TAX
1nc shorthand dictation, and who have sufficient
knowledge of the English language and OF COM
position TO make the business English Of their
employers read straight